Page 57 of Sinful Crimes for the Artistically Inclined
“Very well.” Percy grinned.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes. Tomorrow.” And still, Joe couldn’t figure out why Percy always seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
HOT DATE
Percy was right. Joe couldn’t resist him at all. Not even for a night. It was pathetic. Was it? Did it matter? Not right now. Not as Joe turned Percy’s spare key in his lock and stepped into his dark apartment.
He switched on a lamp and looked around the silent suite. No Percy. Perfect.
He’d had plenty of time to shower and change, and he’d thought Percy would be home by now, but it was even better this way.
Joe turned the light out again and made his way upstairs to the loft. He took off his shoes, socks, shirt, and then he heard the door. The light switched on downstairs.
Percy.
Joe leaned forward excitedly to peek through the railings at him.
Percy threw his keys down on the bench, looked blankly around the apartment, and sighed heavily. It had been a long day, after all. He opened the fridge, sighed again, closed the fridge, and walked to the bathroom.
Joe could hear the water running below, Percy getting readyto sleep he supposed. He lay back on the bed, stretched his legs out long, and stared up at the ceiling, daydreaming about what sort of reaction Percy might have upon his discovery. Daydreaming about what he might do.
The water stopped running. He would be up any second now. He would?—
Joe paused.
That smell.
Percy’s perfume.
His perfume, freshly applied, as if he were expecting?—
A knock at the door. He heard Percy’s swift step and then a warm, “Hello, Princess.”
Joe’s stomach lurched. He sat bolt upright and fumbled for his shirt, fighting back the bile rising in his chest.
“I brought two bottles,” she virtually sang, “to save you the trouble.”
He heard the kiss. Was it his lips or his cheek? And was Joe going to hide under the bed while this happened? Definitely not, but what exactly was he going to do? Go down there and tell Percy he knew? Or quietly step out of the hotel room and disappear and never look back?
She was in the kitchenette now and Joe, hidden in the dark loft, could see her clearly. She had changed and her dress was, admittedly, very nice. It hugged tight at her breasts, flared at her waist, and the thin straps showed off her collar bones and décolletage to great advantage, as did the soft, dark curls of her hair falling just so at her slender shoulders. Joe had already concluded earlier in the day that she was irritatingly attractive, but now that she had dressed for a tryst, she didn’t look likely to fail.
Percy stalked back over to the kitchen and leaned against the bench. “You won’t find any champagne glasses in there.”
She raised a coy eyebrow. “We don’t need any, do we?”
Percy eyed her with a curious head tilt, then decided, “Let’s have a drink, anyway.”
He leaned past her to reach two tumblers down, and Joe reeled at her hand running up Percy’s back, over his shoulder, back down and around his waist. Percy didn’t seem bothered in the least. He only placed the glasses down, opened the bottle with a friendly half smile, poured the drinks, and handed her one. “To us.”
“To us.”
They clinked, and they drank, then he broke free of her grasp and walked to the armchair. An odd choice for a romantic rendezvous. Why not the couch?
“Cigarette?” he asked.
